


Untitled

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Yami No Matsuei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-22
Updated: 2003-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 06:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1637027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tatsumi x Watari fluff. Late night experiments and observations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Saiai

 

 

Carefully he added another drop of hydrochloric acid to the beaker, watching for any sign of a reaction--nothing happened, a fact hastily scrawled down in a well-worn green lab book without thought. 

Although Watari's chemistry was less than stellar, he found it fascinating and persisted in his dabblings, (much to the dismay of his coworkers.) With their dislike in mind, though, he kept the riskier reactions for late-night insomnia-induced inquiry. 

Another quiet night, another experiment to perform. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a late night in December and he was the last one in the office, but nothing reached his conscious thoughts outside of science. After all, what does a date have to do with chemical reactions? Trivial or irrelevant information was catalogued away. 

However, his fixation upon experimentation also caused him not to notice quite a few things--namely the figure standing against the wall by the door, a certain secretary of Meifu who also had a reputation of spending long hours at work. Tatsumi Seiichirou, however, was not working overtime at the moment--he was looking at Watari. 

A truly inquisitive mind focused solely on the matters in question was admirable, albeit it made the same mind oblivious to outside surroundings. Tatsumi watched the hyper-focused curious expression on his blond coworker's face, wondering at its child-like quality. Watari-watching was a newfound pastime of his, and he enjoyed the chance to take his mind off of things for a while, to focus on long strands of wavy hair falling into sunlight and shining gold. 

There was no sun out at the moment--nighttime falls in the underworld, too--just a bright full moon streaming in the windows of the lab. It was a soft light, gently cradling all it touched in silver luminance. It washed out the golden glow, bleaching the strands to a pale cream color. 

Tatsumi watched as the messy head of hair moved in and out of the patches of light, from the harsh glare of the desk lamp to the moon's soft glow. He didn't understand why something so simple fascinated him, but let that be in favor of admiring the image. 

The beaker's substance turned red after the 45th drop of hydrochloric acid, to which Watari gave out a weary whoop and proceeded to set things back into storage. He had his data, that was all he needed, so it was time to join 003 in slumber. 

Hidden in shadow, the elder Shinigami remained in place to continue his own observations. It was his one secret indulgence, and he was confident that he'd remain unnoticed. However, he'd forgotten to take the owl into account, as 003 was nowhere to be seen. 

She was a wise, intelligent owl despite her fluff-brained appearance, and she, too, had been watching someone tonight. The tall man was not truly a stranger, but she wondered at this unexpected long visit. Usually, Tatsumi would simply pause from time to time outside the door and peek in when he thought no one was looking, not come in and stay for hours. Puzzled, she wanted to see what he was up to this time--Watari was /hers/ after all. 

The scientist had completed putting away the hazardous materials into the rickety file cabinet he kept for such things and was dragging out his futon from a nearby closet with one hand as the other unbound his hair. Sleeping at work was nothing new to Yutaka. It was, however, the first time Tatsumi had seen it. 

With a grunt the blond Shinigami tossed the futon onto the floor, removed his glasses and lab coat, and turned off the light. This left him blind, but he was used to the area and didn't mind it. Seiichirou, however, did not know of his familiarity, only his inability to see--as a kagetsukai, the shadows didn't hinder his vision, but he knew others were not the same. It was strange to see his coworker feel around in the dark, while he could see clearly. 

A lived-in science lab is a messy place on principle, and Watari's was a splendid example. Clutter was everywhere, and not all of it was stationary--there was the toaster/file-sorter "pet," among others--this made for terrible footing. This particular night, the toaster (dubbed Martin-kun) had sprawled out over a chair, his long tail/cord draping over to a nearby outlet--right in his master's path. 

Watari was falling forward, idly chiding himself for not training his toaster better and hoping he wouldn't break anything--it wouldn't kill him, but it /would/ hurt. Tatsumi had noticed the tripwire a second before the fall, reflex overriding mind as he made an ungentlemanly dash across the room to catch his coworker, only to overbalance himself and land on the floor with aforementioned friend in his lap. 

Said scientist was very, very confused. He had fallen, but had been caught in the process, and landed /on/ something. Hands out, he began systematically feeling around to discover who this "rescuer" was. Suit, tie, glasses, short hair, peppermint smell--his brain concluded Tatsumi, but that seemed rather odd. Why would /Tatsumi/ be in his lab late at night? Perhaps he was imagining things. "Um...thanks." 

The older man, at the moment, was mentally kicking himself for the action, and wondered if he could somehow escape this awkward situation. Fleeing, however, is not an option if the person to avoid is lying in one's lap. Giving that up as lost, the frugal man froze, wishing for a way out silently. This only confused the genki scientist more. 

003 had noticed the trip and sympathized with the unnoticed squeaking toaster. (Martin-kun had been dragged from his chair by his master's foot, which left him awake in the dark,) She helpfully plugged in a nightlight in the outlet to aid him. 

With a dim light on, Watari could see well enough to recognize a brown suit, brown hair, and blue eyes. This derailed all coherent thought as it confirmed Tatsumi was, indeed, in his room at this late hour. Words came to him after several minutes of surprise and sputtering. 

"Ano, Tatsumi-san, what are you doing here?" 

Several minutes of silence ensued. The clock struck two; neither Shinigami noticed. 

The secretary, wondering what possessed him, wore a small smile and said, "To wish you a Merry Christmas." 

"Then...may I give you your present?" 

"Of course, Watari-san," answered Tatsumi cordially, not knowing what to expect. 

Giving in to impulsivity, Yutaka gripped him in a tight hug, touching his forehead to the other man's, and whispered "Merry Christmas." 

Then he kissed the surprised secretary, a polite and chaste affair, not unpleasant in the slightest. Mentally, Tatsumi decided it was certainly the nicest gift he'd ever received. 

 


End file.
